Lazy Cat Needs Exercise but Just Won't Play!

My beloved cat, Tiger, is 9 years old, weights about 16 pounds on a good day, though lately he seems to have been gaining weight (he sure feels heavier), and even 16 pounds is rather unhealthy. He's a big cat naturally, but I'm concerned about the pockets of fat we saw on an X-Ray at a vet visit a few months ago.

Tiger is and has always been rather lazy, and his favorite thing to do is sleep on my bed (right on top of my clean clothes I might add!). He likes to play occasionally, but it's only ever for a few minutes, and it's only ever with a laser pointer or string.

The odd thing is, he only plays if he doesn't realize you're the one controlling the toy. As soon as he sees the little silver laser pointer in my hand, or my hand around the string, he gives me an annoyed look and stops playing. It's so strange!

Furthermore, a few months ago he became extraordinarily lethargic, and he started limping whenever he tried to walk. We took him in for a vet visit and found that he has some sort of... Well in the X-Ray it looked like some sort of cloudy thing around his hip. The vet said it was either some sort of infection, or cancer, and she said he had arthritis as well. We started him on a joint supplement (that he takes rather well) and some antibiotics.

Luckily, the antibiotics appeared to work, though the strange cloudy thing still appeared in X-Rays. We're still not sure what it is, but he is moving around about as much as he used to, and he doesn't limp anymore, so the vet said he should be fine, as long as we keep careful watch over him for any further complications, and keep giving him that joint supplement for his arthritis. She also recommended we get him losing some weight. She said the dry food we were feeding him was fine, and our feeding schedule as well as the amount we give him is perfect. The only thing she said we need him to do is start exercising.

But that's the problem, even now that he's moving alright again, he just won't do it! He'll play with his buddy, Scout (my mom's young cat of 2 years old), and his sometimes pal, Broeski (my brother's 3 year old Fox Terrier-Chihuahua mix), from time to time, and he still has some interest in the laser pointer and strings, but it's not enough to get him losing weight. We even try chasing him about the house, but it just makes him mad so we don't do it too often.

I know he's a naturally lazy cat, so exercising him is going to be a chore, but I didn't think it would be this bad. I'm very concerned about the problems his weight will cause, as I know it puts him at risk for all kinds of problems with his internal organs, not to mention the strange deal about his hip and his arthritis. I really don't want my best friend to be in any pain, nor to die earlier than he should because of obesity.

So in a nutshell, I'm looking for a way to exercise my 9 year old feline friend with joint problems and a lazy personality. Any help would be an absolute blessing!

~Gertrude Fin

Concerned Cat Companion

You could try a treat ball, so that he'd have to chase around the ball for it to deliver treats.

And you can try to throw a treat so he'd have to run to get it.

There are also wind-up type of toys, like mice, that you wind up, set on floor, and watch it go!

If he does have arthritis, it may hurt him to play.  And having the extra weight may make it uncomfortable for him to play.  I am glad you are giving him a joint supplement; I believe they really do work.

Your vet said dry food was okay and that the amount you are feeding him is sufficient:  well, if he is gaining weight and is inactive, maybe not.  Also, dry food is much more calorically dense than wet food; for weight loss purposes, wet food is recommended.   (Put the dry food in the treat ball.)

Good luck!

Well, I am really kind of surprised that your Vet didn't suggest cutting down on his portions in order for him to lose weight.  That's a first for me!  Every other poster who has had an overweight cat (including me!) has had the Vet tell them to "feed less" and usually "feed something different".

That being said, you  never want to cut down the portions by too much, because cats should lose weight slowly...if you were to cut his portions by too much he could get sick.  What do you feed him, and how much.  Do you free feed him or measure out a certain amount and give it to him at specific times of the day and have him eat it all right then and there? 

I like Ritz's idea of using a feeding ball, or something similar, which would make him work for his food.  You can even  make one by using a yogurt container that has a lid, and cutting one or two holes in the side of it, slightly larger than his kibble.  Place some kibble in it, put the lid on, then roll it around on the floor to show him how the kibble comes out.  This should be very entertaining for him, as well as giving him some exercise.  Or, if you've got the time, toss each and every piece of kibble down the hall and make him run (or at least walk ) for it.

As far as other forms of exercising goes, you need to find the right toy.  Each cat is different.  I find that one of mine loves "flying" toys, like Da Bird, and another one loves toys that are more like little twitching things on the ground....More like the Cat Dancer, which is little rolled up bits of cardboard on both ends of a flexible wire.  What I did was tie a thickish ribbon to one end for the cat that likes flying things, then when it's not in the air, it works like a snake just off the ground.  BUT, the neat thing about is, if one cat is "working" one end of it, the other end is moving around (if I let go of it), which really peaks the interest of the other cat!  Then he goes to town on that end, and the two cats have their own interactive toy.  I always watch them, though, to make sure no one tries to swallow that ribbon.  And I always put it away when playtime is over.      

Now, since your guy is wise to the fact that you are "pulling the strings" (pun intended ), you need to get something on a pole so he doesn't really see that you've got it (even if it's just a long string...affix it to a wooden dowel or something).  When I use a laser, I always keep  it hidden in my palm and all they hear is the clicking, so they do look at my hand, but they never see anything.  But be aware that with the laser, it's very frustrating for them because they never get any satisfaction since they cannot catch anything .  If you use that, it's a good idea to have something that it actually  leads them to, like a small treat or a fuzzy mouse or something they can actually put their paw on.  I'm reading a book right now (Think Like A Cat) and am on the chapter about how to play with your cat.  The author is saying how you need to make the toy like prey.  Always have it going away from the cat, let the cat catch it now and then, wind down towards the end of playtime, and reward the cat with a final "kill" of the prey, then follow that with a treat since they did "kill" their prey.  Makes sense to me.  So save one piece of his dinner kibble to give as his  "kill".